Getting an invite to (and being able to afford a table at) the annual Met Ball (aka the Costume Institute Gala) is out of reach for, well, pretty much everyone. But the organizers are trying to make this year's Met Ball, which is scheduled for May 7, a bit more inclusive. As so many designers have done in recent seasons with their runway shows, the organizers are livestreaming--for the first time--the red carpet arrivals and certain moments from the actual gala, WWD is reporting.
There will even be hosts for the red carpet broadcast, but don't expect Giuliana Rancic and Kelly Osbourne to be there. Instead, ex-Vogue-er William Norwich and model/scholar Elettra Wiedemann will ask patrons who they're wearing and whether or not George Clooney has ever played any pranks on them. They'll also be interviewing the event's co-chairs, newlywed Carey Mulligan, Miuccia Prada and Anna Wintour. You'll be able to watch the red carpet livestream from 6:30 to 8:30pm EST on Vogue.com, Metmuseum.org, and Amazon.com. (Amazon is underwriting the benefit and "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations" exhibit.)

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And because no spectacle goes un-tweeted these days, there's going to be an interactive Twitter element, too. You can submit questions using the hashtag #metquestions and Norwich and Wiedemann will pose tweet questions to attendees. Other online goodies include celeb preparations on Facebook; videos, photos and commentary about the exhibit on the Met's website; and a glimpse into the gala itself, including a livestream of the as-yet-undisclosed-but-possibly-Jennifer Lopez musical act on Vogue.com.

Will you watch the Met Ball online this year? We definitely will--well, unless our invite arrives soon. It's probably just lost in the mail.

Great news fashion fans (and fans of unintentionally funny photogs): The Met Gala red carpet will be livestreaming again this year.
This year's red carpet will be hosted by Vogue's own William Norwich and model Hilary Rhoda

What we now know as the Met Ball--the over-the-top celeb-saturated red carpet spectacular--began quietly 65 years ago when superstar publicist Eleanor Lambert thought up a "Party of the Year" to raise money for the newly formed Costume Institute at the Met. Until recently, the party was a society event and a celeb siting was rare. Today, it's a massive media event. It happened a week and a half ago and we're still talking about it. In today's short-attention span media cycle, that's quite a feat.
In response to the increased interest in the Met Gala, Vogue is, for the first time ever, releasing a special edition devoted to all things Met Gala. The issue is on newsstands now.
In it, Billy Norwich, a Vogue contributor whom you probably know best as the host of Vogue's Met Gala red carpet livestream, pens a piece called "A Night at the Museum" which is meant to be a "bird’s-eye view behind the scenes of some recent Met-Ball standouts." What it is, in fact, is a surprisingly dishy tell-all about some of the near-disasters (one of the peacocks flew his golden cage hours before the gala in 2007) and incredible celebrity diva moments that have gone down at Met Balls past.